chime1
n.
- a bell or a metal bar or tube tuned and used in a set to produce melodious ringing sounds when struck.
▸a sound made by such an instrument.
- Bell-ringing a stroke of the clapper against one or both sides of a scarcely moving bell.
v.
- (of a bell or clock) make chimes.
-
(chime with)
Brit. be in agreement with.
-
(chime in)
interject a remark.
Derivative
Etymology
ME (in the senses ‘cymbal’ and ‘ring out’): prob. from OE cimbal (see cymbal), later interpreted as chime bell.
chime2
n.
the projecting rim at the end of a cask.
Etymology
ME: prob. from an OE word rel. to Du. kim and Ger. Kimme; cf. chine3.